@quitesimplystella

31 Nights of Horror – The ‘Burbs (1989)

October 3, 2018/

I am actually going to see this at the drive-in tonight so I am cheating a little but I have seen it 1,000 times at least 🙂 I just discovered a drive-in not that far from where I live this summer and they are showing tons of Halloween movies all month long. Anyway, this movie is such a classic and a lot of fun at any time of year.

Ray and Carol Petersen are just your average suburbanites surrounded by average albeit a little eccentric, suburbanite neighbors. That’s until the Klopeks move in next door and stir things up. True to American suburbia culture, anything different is feared and the neighbors assume that the mysterious family is up to no good. A series of suspicious events pushes Ray to edge of paranoia, he and his gang of middle-aged friends are convinced that the Klopeks are responsible for the disappearance of their elderly neighbor. The group goes on a recon mission that involves breaking and entering then causing a gas leak that razes the Klopeks’ house – not for nothing though since they do prove the family was actually killing people just not who they originally thought.

I enjoy this movie so much, while the depiction of the American suburb is obviously hyperbolic, much of it rings true. Life is so incredibly mundane in these sterile, planned neighborhoods that you have to people watch just for entertainment. I know, because this is my life 😀 We all know who the oddballs are in the neighborhood and they do come under more scrutiny than the boring, normal neighbors but how exciting would it be if you really did end up living next to a nutty doctor?! The mania to be normal is a very real part of American culture and by normal, we mean, just like us. It’s such a fun movie and I definitely recommend for just about anyone!